Plaza Hotel sale | Goldman partners | Brooklyn Bridge scaled again

August 25, 2014

The sale of the Plaza Hotel to the sultan of Brunei has turned out to be baseless, but the majority owner of the luxury hotel said he is still trying to sell his stakes in the Plaza, the Dream New York hotel in lower Manhattan and the Grosvenor House in London. The Plaza will likely fetch $2 billion, but any deal will be extremely complicated because of the ownership structure of the hotel. [The New York Times]

Plus: City construction companies push for more site safety inspectors. [New York Post]

Goldman Sachs announced that it will probably reward fewer than 70 employees with “partner” status this fall. That would be in line with the number of partner titles handed down in 2012, the last time the designations were bestowed, but a decrease in the average number since the firm went public in 1999. [The Wall Street Journal]

Following a highly publicized stunt in July where American flags on the Brooklyn Bridge were replaced with white flags, a man was arrested Sunday for scaling the bridge and walking along one of the towers. [Crain's New York Business]

Interest rates are likely to see an increase next year, according to Federal Reserve officials, and money managers are wary about an impact on the stock market. With low rates and healthy recovery in the economy, stocks have been doing well, with a 2.6% increase in the Dow Jones Industrial Average this year. But higher rates and an end to the Federal monthly stimulus could be a detriment. [The Wall Street Journal]

Catbird, a popular jewelry brand that has made its home on Bedford Avenue in the heart of Brooklyn's Williamsburg for the past decade, is planning to open a second outpost a few blocks away at 540 Driggs Ave. The new store called "wedding annex" is expected to open by the end of September. [Crain's New York Business]

With the demise of Long Island College Hospital, some primary-care doctors are seeing new opportunities. Weill Cornell Medical College has recently opened its third Brooklyn practice, Sunrise Medical, at 55 Greene Ave. A sister location, Weill Cornell Physicians of Brooklyn Heights, opened in February. And Mount Sinai Hospital has added four surgeons to its Brooklyn Heights branch. [Crain's Health Pulse]

Engine Capital, which holds more than 1% of Ann Inc. stock with a hedge-fund partner, thinks a buyer would pay $50 to $55 per share for the company, a steep increase over its $37.52 Friday close. The investors believe the retailer can get about $2.5 billion in a sale. Ann Inc. said it was open to working with shareholders and to "creating value" for all. [The Wall Street Journal]

Good news for sufferers of cupcake withdrawal: Crumbs, the popular bakery that suddenly shut its stores and filed for bankruptcy in July, will reopen its location at 795 Columbus Ave. The chain, which counted 49 stores at its height, was bought in a bankruptcy auction by CNBC TV host Marcus Lemonis and Dippin Dots owner Fischer Enterprises last week. [New York Post]

City Councilman Ben Kallos is seeking to streamline Freedom of Information requests to the city by putting them online. The database would allow all requests and the data provided to be openly accessible, which he says would decrease delays in issuing responses. [Daily News]

Ravens, the large and intelligent black birds made famous by Edgar Allen Poe, have been sighted around Chelsea. The birds are native to New Hampshire but aren't known to have nested in New York City in over a century. [The New York Times]